Tonight: Rap Round Robin

Tonight is the fifth annual Rap Round Robin, which looks to be one of the most diverse displays of Baltimore hip hop yet. Performing tonight at Floristree will be AK Slaughter, Mickey Free and Secret Weapon Dave, PT Burnem, OOH of Brownfish with seeWEED, Height With Friends, Jones, Mania Music Group, The Plural MC, King Rhythm, Soul Cannon, Rapdragons, and Disturbed Individuals.





The Rap Round Robin is at Floristree, starts at 9 PM, and you can RSVP here.

Show: Mickey Free Record Release Party @ Golden West

This Friday night at the Golden West Mickey Free celebrates the release of his new album with AK Slaughter, Nuclear Power Pants, and Secret Weapon Dave on the 1s and 2s.

Mickey Free has had a banner year, churning out a killer remix of Wye Oak's "That I Do", producing the latest Height with Friends LP, and capping it all off with a solo full length that's chock full of the antics and beats we've come to know and love from Mr. Free.



While the LP has a handful of standouts - from "Never Enough" which features Wye Oak and Dave from Arbouretum, to more humorous takes like "The Unnies" - my personal favorite has to be "They Don't Know How To Act" which features a verse from Height. Any hip hop track that can come off this serious but still use the phrase "schlepped" is ace in my book, and this epic banger defines everything Mickey is capable of.



I highly recommend hitting up the show this Friday night, and even more so, I urge you to pick up a copy of Mickey Free's Last of the Tight Wiggers. Mickey is offering admission to the show and a copy of the album for just $10, so get on that.

Rap Round Robin Video Flyer No. 2

Sarah Milinksi and Jared Paolini just dropped their second video flyer for this Saturday's Rap Round Robin, and this one's got Height With Friends. The event is this weekend at Floristree, and will sport a lineup that includes Food For Animals, AK Slaughter, Rap Dragons, Mickey Free, King Rhythm, The Plural MC, PT Burnem, and Jones.



Peep the poster after the jump, and look our for the third installment soon.

Rap Round Robin Video Flyer No. 1

The Baltimore Rap Round Robin is this Saturday at Floristree, and features Food For Animals, AK Slaughter, Rap Dragons, Height With Friends, Mickey Free, King Rhythm, The Plural MC, PT Burnem, and Jones. The above video flyer is the first in a series of three put together by Jared Paolini and Sara Milinski of Small Snake Productions.



The video features PT Burnem underneath a bridge in Baltimore, doing his thing acapella style. The other two videos will feature other rappers involved in similar scenarios around town. Look for those to come soon.

Fourth Annual Baltimore Rap Round Robin

The fourth annual Baltimore Rap Round Robin has been announced, and it will take place at Floristree on August 7th. This has been super fun over the past several years.



In case you're not familiar - all performers will be setting up around the space, and will participate in a traditional round robin set. Just like year's past, 2010's lineup heavily spotlights some of our favorite local wordsmiths and beat-makers.



Food For Animals, AK Slaughter, Rap Dragons, Height With Friends, Mickey Free, King Rhythm, The Plural MC, PT Burnem, and Jones will all be performing. Peep a video of Height with Friends from the event three years ago after the jump.

Jason Urick - This Is Critical

It's no secret that Jason Urick has been a huge inspiration to us and those around us. When he says something is critical, you should probably go ahead and listen.



"Invisible Map" is the B side on the new This Is Critical 7 inch by Jason Urick that's out on Fan Death Records next week. One of our favorite musicians paired with one of the best local labels is a win/win, and I'm stoked to get my hands on the wax next week. You can catch Jason play tonight at the WICV broadcast booth at Artscape with Dustin Wong.



When you're finished, head over to see Height with Friends & AK Slaughter at the Annex. Tomorrow night, stumble by the WICV booth again for Brendan Sullivan and Winks.

Clusterf*ck: Shows in Baltimore this Weekend

There's a lot to do this weekend, so let' get to clusterf*cking. This one is a bit of a Friends Records edition, as bands from all three of our upcoming LPs are playing shows.



Tonight, the Hexagon is stacked so grab a six pack or flask of your favorite spirit and get ready for a pretty diverse bill. Baltimore's Weekends, Jones, and Talk to Animals, are paired with DC's BLDGS and Boston's Bone Zones... yes, the name's Bone Zone. This party will run ya six beans, and as always the Hexagon is BYOB. See you there.

Sonar is sporting a massive one tonight as well, with the biggest ambient soul project in all the land coming to town. Taxlo's got The XX, but unfortunately if this is the first you are hearing of it you're out of luck. This one's sold out, but there's an after party at Sonar with Jamie from The XX DJing that does not require a ticket to the show. The after party starts at 10 PM.



Saturday night you'll likely want to be in the Annex/Copycat corridor. Height with Friends and Nuclear Power Pants bring the veggie oil fueled bus back to Baltimore, playing a big 'ol homecoming show at The Good Son with AK Slaughter, Gavin Riley, and Drew Swineburne. Nuclear Power Pants will also be releasing their new cassette single for "Uh Oh Maxi". And, Height's new LP will be ready for your turntables in just a couple weeks.



Over at Pet Cemetary, there's another massive lineup with Weekends, True Womanhood, Ava Luna, Cop Magnet, and Silent Whys. A lot of these folks have releases with the Baltimore digital label Environmental Aesthetics, and also a lot of these folks are awesome. There is one more show in the vicinity, with Nothingberryplasma, Total Bolsheviks, Andrew Bernstein, and Comeback Ranch all playing over at The F401tress.



Oh and hey, you've got two more swell options Saturday night with Rapdragons playing their release party for Ten Stories Highjacked, and the Oranges Band playing their 10th anniversary show at the Ottobar.



If you survived Saturday night's ambush, then Sunday's got a stellar free show upstairs at the Ottobar. Sri Aurobindo and Jack Chick play El Suprimo's 7th birthday party. Get psyched.

Mobtown Microshows

Our neighbors, Mobtown Studios, are a friendly little recording studio headed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman. Most recently, they're responsible for the daunting task of recording the entire NOVO Festival (for your downloading pleasure over on Aural States), which included yet another breathtaking set by Dustin Wong.

However, in-house they've been running their Mobtown Microshow series that has been on fire as of late. The series consists of a private show inside their Charles Village studio, where the performance is taped and released via their site. Since January they've hosted Secret Mountains, Mr. Moccasin, and most recently Rapdragons.

The Rapdragons show was of particular note, as Nick Often and Greg Ward lined up quite the supporting cast to help out with songs off of their upcoming Featuring Baltimore release. The session included Dustin Wong lending his guitar chops to "Early For Work", Aran from AK Slaughter guest rapping on "Rap’n'Roll", Future Islands fronter Sam Herring throwing down his vocal flow on "Gotta Go", and a couple fellows from Secret Mountains helping out with "Come Harvest".

It looks like Mobtown's got a fine list of upcoming microshows, including one with Weekends May 13... right around when Strange Cultures should be dropping. Here's their schedule until October, all shows are free but RSVP is requested due to small seating capacity.

• June 10: The Manly Deeds
• July 8: Yukon
• August 12: Leisure Icons
• September 9: We Used To Be Family
• October 14: A Cat Called Cricket

The Sandwitches - How to Make Ambient Sadcake

The Sandwitches are playing tonight at the Zodiac with The Dodgers and the always great, AK Slaughter - three dollar suggested donation and the show starts at 10 PM.

A trio from San Francisco, The Sandwitches are two ladies that sing and play guitar and a fellow that plays drums. The result is a jangled burst of sunny pop music, but with a dark twist that echoes from prior eras. For those who dig the Smith Westerns, and are down to dive into a little Fleetwood Mac here and there - The Sandwitches are for you.



Grace and Heidi were once members of The Fresh and Onlys, but now create in a new realm. How to Make Ambient Sadcake was released last year, the first release out on Turn Up Records.

The vocals on this record provide a warm and fuzzy layer that's quite a quick draw. Smatterings of vintage era doo-wop and coats of cracked soul lend a hand to some classic 60s girl pop sensibilities. Yet the darker vibes are what gives this release character, making sure to never stray too far away from being sprinkled with sugar. It's a careful balance that never quite leans too far in the wrong direction.

More entrancing tunes like "Marry Me" and "Fire" hold captive rhythms that have a cave folk vibe, while tracks like album opener "Back to the Sea" are more fit for a group sing-a-long. The record's subtle highs and lows that have me uncovering more each listen, drawing from endless genres yet feeling right at home all along.

This kind of weird pop outfit should help make for a pleasant Monday evening at the Zodiac. The Sandwitches have kept busy since their debut release, and like many have a lively March planned with a plethora of shows down at SXSW and beyond. Peep some live video below, and you can still grab their fantastic debut LP over at Endless Nest.

Playlist: Blogtimore Pwns Weekend

There are about 30 acts playing this weekend on Friday at the G Spot, Saturday at Sonar, and Sunday at the Ottobar. Listen to 17 above. Get tickets here and here.

Bmore Musically Informed Presents: Get 'em Mamis, AK Slaughter, Rapdragons, PT Burnem, Mickey Free @ Ottobar 1/31/10

With rock and roll fully represented Friday, January 29 at the G Spot, we at Bmore Musically Informed wanted to add a night to a weekend that is already jam-packed to exemplify another full flowing genre of music in Baltimore

Sunday night January 31st, we added a show at the Ottobar that right now includes the Get 'em Mamis, AK Slaughter, Rapdragons, PT Burnem, and Mickey Free.

Listen to all of the performers and get all the details after the click.

The Get 'em Mamis



AK Slaughter



Rapdragons



PT Burnem



Mickey Free


We noticed that there was a dimly spotlighted genre of music for Blogtimore Pwns weekend, and decided to help represent some more sounds that are happening in the community of Baltimore. This will be night three, and the finale of a series presented by Bmore Musically Informed and Aural States.

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of, and $6 with a special flyer given out at Friday night’s Bmore Musically Informed show which is January 29 at the G Spot with Arbouretum, Wye Oak, Sri Aurobindo, Weekends, and the Violet Hour. Fliers that will grant you the discount will also be distributed at Aural States Fest.

This is a showcase for some of the area’s finest hip hop, and will cap off Blogtimore Pwns weekend. Keep posted right here in the coming weeks for exclusive premieres from some of the weekend’s performers, and more details.

Valerie's Favorite Show Photos of 2009

Both Chrissy and Valerie helped build a pretty elaborate portfolio of photo sets from shows in Baltimore this year. Chrissy already shared her top memories, and here are Valerie's top ten favorite photos she took in 2009, with her thoughts on each shot.

I've been shooting for Bmore Musically Informed since April, and I've loved being a part of it. I have met so many awesome people over the past several months. Similar to Chrissy, I chose the following based on the experiences tied to the show and on the photos themselves. 2009 hosted some of the best concerts I've ever been to, I can't wait to see what 2010 will bring

10. The Faint at Sonar

This was the first show I shot for Bmore Musically Informed, and even though I have taken many better pictures since this one, I feel it is an appropriate place to start.

9. What Cheer Brigade at Whartscape 09

Definitely the most fun I've ever had watching a marching band.

8. Carsick Cars at Open Space

I love taking pictures like this. I have no idea if anyone else likes them as much as I do.

7. Dustin Wong at Soft Fest

I really like the tone and composition of this photo, I think it conveys the way everyone felt that night. Soft Fest was a brilliant idea, and one of the singers during the night (although I forget who) put it perfectly: "I have never seen an audience at a show be so quiet, for so long, for such good reasons."

6. Ponytail at the Ottobar

I have no idea how I survived this show, or how my camera survived it. Ponytail fans are dangerous.

5. Abiku at MT6 Fest at the Hexagon

I can never see this band too many times. I'm sure you can see why.

4. Le Loup at the Ottobar

Le Loup is one of my favorite bands, and they played beautifully at this show. I love almost all of the shots from this night.

3. Lightwriting with A.K. Slaughter

Hanging out with Aran and Emily of A.K. Slaughter in a creepy alley, while they figured out a way to vomit light in photographic form. What else can I say?

2. Celebration at Load of Fun

Celebration playing in an ice cave. Everything about this night was fantastic.

1. Future Islands at Floristree

Probably one of the best photos I've ever taken. Sam is so theatrical when he performs, it's easy to get good shots of him.

Photos: Height with Friends / AK Slaughter

Height w/Friends stormed the Windup Space last Friday, joined by the likes of Ak Slaughter, Lizz King, and Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez. We made it in time for the final three acts, along with Valerie who snapped some excellent photos that are all below.

This was the album release party for Height w/Friends' Baltimore Highlands remix album, but AK Slaughter also just dropped some love. Aran and Emily's mixtape, which you can grab here for free, is pretty stacked with all kinds of fun cuts from the duo. They killed it yet again live on Friday, and appeared to be having a grand old time doing it. They've got another show this Friday at Sonar.

Height w/Friends featured Mickey Free and Emily Slaughter backing up Height vocally, and they did a damn fine job doing so. The beats hit loud, Height was as amped as always, and Mickey and Emily were essential in weaving it all together. Look for more to come from all three MCs, including a new full length on the way soon from Emily's AK Slaugter. Peep the rest of the photo set below, or click here for the set on our Flikr.


Photos by Valerie

Interview / Mixtape / Photos: AK Slaughter

I recently had the privilege of putting together a photo shoot with local hip hop duo AK Slaughter, as their A Personal Matter's choice cuts continue to infiltrate my playlists. The new mixtape is also absurdly good, and you can download it here for free, or stream it at the very bottom of this post.

This photo shoot/interview sesh involved Valerie's super fun light writing photography, and was a whole mess of fun to help out with. No photoshop necessary, all light effects in the photos were "written" live at the shoot by Emily, Aran, Joe, and me.

I also asked Emily Slaughter and Aran Keating about the mixtape, the new album they are working on, the show on Friday at the Windup Space, and hypothetical photo shoot-based scenarios. Read on to peep the interview, pics, and mixtape.

You just dropped a free mixtape, what went into putting this together?

Aran: It's a DJ mix that I have wanted to do for a while. It is basically a vehicle for a bunch of tracks that we don't really think of as fullly-produced "songs." So we took all these tracks that we have been doing live for a long time, where the beat is really just a loop of a song we liked and I linked em all together with other tracks, acapellas, instrumentals and live stuff that we wanted to use. It is especially fun to take other people's acapellas and hear what, say, Yung Joc sounds like on an AK Slaughter beat. Then I did some new mixes of our tracks and made it all do the mashed potato and I'm pretty happy with the result.

Your mixtape ranges from sampling Elvis to Cutty Ranks to the Cardigans... who are your biggest influences and in what way have you incorporated them with AK Slaughter's music?

Emily: Aran and I both listen to a bunch of different music, I think that shows in our own music... especially our super sample heavy beats. He listens to way more rap than I ever have and I would say is more lyrically influenced by rap music than I am (is that true Aran?). When I listen to rap, I mostly listen to the old school girls having fun stuff like Roxanne Shante, her rivals JJ Fad and Salt n' Pepa. If I could write lyrics like Kool Keith I would die like a thousand times. Country ballads like The Carter Family's "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes", Tammy Wynette's "The Ways to Love a Man" and "Apartment Number 9" have a big influence on me lyrically. Any music about shit going bad basically rules and serves as fodder for my songs, like Joy Division for example. We're working on a new song that samples Bananarama, oh yes.

Aran: We are always gonna pull samples from everywhere that we can think of: if we dig it we'll sample it. So, I like to think that we are more influenced by this old-school mid 80s mindset of artists like Rick Rubin or Prince Paul who would sample a Doobie Brothers or some obscure garage rock song as easily as a james brown drum break or a rap song that was just released. I think what's great about hip-hop is that you can be really shameless about where your samples are coming from....as long as you are flipping a track in a new way, you can jack an entire song (like we've done with out Hall and Oates jams) or you can pull small bits of samples from all over the place and compose something from the ground up.

I had fun attempting to draw upside down crosses over your heads. You both dig pentagrams, apparently. Emily tells me you guys are working on your next album, are you moving in a more black metal direction with your stuff? Do you have some dark metal party jams in store for us?

Aran: Yes and yes.

Emily: I only got into black metal like a year ago. I've always listened to the more mainstream stuff, like Metallica and whatnot, but I kept hearing about these insane Nordic guys and I had to check them out. My adventures in the realm of darkness have been kind of half-assed: I read Lords of Chaos and got a friend to give me copies of Mayhem, Celtic Frost albums... etc. I really really like the way it sounds, it is exciting and kind of exhilarating, I need to make more of an effort to expand my library. I'm also really into the imagery and the history of the movement. The album and t-shirt art is amazing, we actually based our own t-shirts on that aesthetic. The contemporary history of the genre is pretty ridiculous (with the church burnings and murders and all) but the I think Norse history and folklore is very interesting.... I've been researching the pagan rituals and the gods associated with them for various projects.

As for AK Slaughter, I'd say the t-shirts and the casual use of pentagrams and upside down crosses will be about as far as we go into the dark world. I think a black metal/rap hybrid would end up sounding like rap rock and no one wants to hear that.

Yeah, probably a terrible awesome idea anyways. What was the best place you ever vomited?

Aran: I loved it when Emily vomited into my mouth. It was a happy accident.

Emily: The Roman Colosseum. It sucked. I writhed in the grass for several hours while my friend toured the ruins with his parents.

If you were climbing out of an abyss and only one of you could make it out alive, who wouldn't get sucked into the theoretical neon chasm?

Emily: Aran and I are a team. We would help each other out of this hypothetical abyss and then high five in the air.

Aran: Em and I are tighter than C3PO's underoos. We would tunnel out of that bitch with our bare hands.

You guys have a pretty rad show this Friday night at the Windup Space, whats your favorite Height w/Friends jam? Lizz King jaunt? Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez song?

Emily: Picking a favorite Height track is hard... narrowing it down to just Height with Friends songs makes it a bit easier, because there are less of them. When I listen to Mike Stone, I can't help but stomp and shake, it is totally cool in every way. I'll say Mike Stone for now (check out the video!) but tomorrow I'll probably have another favorite. Lizz King is the bomb.

Aran: I feel that AK Slaughter has a lot in common with Lizz King. Her music is part weird, part dance, part theatrics, part rock, part trad...I dig her stuff a lot. I also really can't wait to hear the new Height record. That song Link Wray and the one called Something Lagoon I've heard live a few times and are blowin my brain.

Photos all by Valerie

Photos: AK Slaugter at Load of Fun

Photos by Valerie

AK Slaughter helped round out a solid lineup at Load of Fun last Friday, all part of the Carnival of Bros event put on by the Baltimore Rock Opera Society.

Above is the photo set from AK Slaughter's performance, compliments of Valerie. The hip hop duo just released their new EP dubbed A Personal Matter. They also just dropped a mixtape, packed with all kinds of goodness. The link to the free download can be found on their myspace. Expect some more upcoming shows from them as well.

Third Annual Baltimore Rap Round Robin

What better way to start celebrating your country's independence than being bombarded by the entirety of Baltimore's most interesting rap acts.

The third annual All Rap Round Robin goes down this Friday at Load of Fun. The event features nine acts of the most unique left field blends of hip hop our fair city has to offer. This year's lineup, which will come at you rapid-fire round robin style, includes:

Food For Animals
Height
AK Slaughter
King Rhythym
Jones
Mickey Free
The Plural MC
PT Burn 'Em
Rap Dragons

Jones just dropped his debut solo full length, titled Jones Jones Jones. You can snag the MP3s for free right here, or go grab the limited vinyl copy that boasts custom spray paint art unique to each sleeve. Jone's slow delivered flow and minimalistic psych-soaked beats can also be caught at this year's Whartscape.

Tickets for the round robin this friday at LOF are only 5 bucks, show starts at 10.

With much thanks to Jeff, take a gander at the audio from 2007's event below!